Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Wow! This is what I did today. I, along with five others and the pilot flew over Zion in a hot air balloon. The wind pretty much picked us up and dropped us over the West Temple. Holy Cow! Check back for updates on a coffee table book with artist's contribution and impressions of this flight.

Monday, December 26, 2011

A little felted wool scarf bag I created to travel with my camera as a slightly less obvious package. The inside is lined with fleece and the wood button added with blanket stitch details.

The New Yorker is a fantastic magazine. I read an article about Masafuera (Farther Away) Island, the likely location of Robinson Crusoe's isolation. It's off the coast of Chile, one of my favorite countries in the world. Maybe the bag would come in handy.

Friday, December 23, 2011

What a fun evening doing yoga with friends, eating a truly wonderful dinner, but its true purpose a cleanse, and meditation. This is becoming my style...another re-purposed sweater saved from the donation pile by adding a band across the bottom and a vertical stripe to make up for the shortfall.
HAPPY SOLSTICE!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

I'm back from a little holiday trip...I couldn't figure out how to upload a post from my iPhone. I'll be working on that in the future. Good times in Atlanta! I'm going to start painting these scenes. I've always loved flying over the Grand Canyon.

Friday, December 16, 2011

This handy book is perfect for samples, ephemera and possibly small 3D items. From At Home with Handmade Books by Erin Zamrzla. The pages are plastic zipper bags. I re-used a friend's eye chart calendar for the paper, the extremely talented Stefanie Brechbeuhler, http://www.workstead.com.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

This is my cabinet of curiosities (Kunstkammer) installation in the studio...these cabinets were extremely popular in Europe during the Renaissance. I was collecting and assembling these long before I knew what they were called, but it seems artists and also wealthy Euro types in the 16th - 17th centuries have been avid collectors of all things natural and odd for some time. Along the same vein, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) did some amazing things for a woman of her time, including travel to Surinam and paint butterflies and plants at a time when women were not only discouraged but unable to pursue art the way we know it today. Interestingly, women were allowed to paint in watercolors, but not oils. I think I might have been in some trouble had a lived back then...

Sunday, December 11, 2011

I guess I just don't realize how impatient and how equally stubborn I am sometimes...I bought a really expensive piece of fabric in San Francisco as a treat. Without the experience to warrant my optimism, I decided to adjust a pattern (no previous experience doing this) and cutting into the velvet (no previous experience doing this). I understand why books and experts recommend trying your luck on something less expensive first, but I didn't have the patience. With much frustration, I am this far...

Friday, December 9, 2011

I was going to cut these and decided they were pretty darn cute the way they were. In reality, I haven't taken them off since I decided that. I wore them to yoga. PERFECT! Just the right temperature. I wore them under my sweater in the picture on the right. I wore them walking the dog. They are simply the arms from a felted sweater. They would work equally well as leg warmers from a slightly larger sweater arm.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

In the midst of a vascular headache day I had a moment of clarity and flipped through this book. It was worth the risk of straining my eyes and triggering another...MAIRA KALMAN's illustrated journal is a gem.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

I found this sweater in a NYC thrift store a few years ago. I never liked its length, but love the color and the collar! Today, thanks to my serger I added a section of felted wool (with a detail on the back) that makes the sweater perfect. I did lose a thread on the serger and had to remember how to run it through all those eyes! I know why the repairman told me not to mess with it again once he fixed it. Unfortunately, the machine didn't listen to those instructions.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

It froze last night, down to 27 degrees Fahrenheit at my house. The remaining leaves have fallen to the ground. We can anticipate the solstice and the shortest day of the year in just three short weeks.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

You must see the movie, ANONYMOUS, what a great new twist to the Shakespeare myth...I went to a lesson on how to use my ancient Mini Lock Serger. I was so excited to get started but coming up with a pattern and cutting sweaters is quite stressful. Which side should I have show, the serged side or the clean side?

Day 2

Total re-work. I made it more fitted and added what I hope is interesting details. I've still got to figure out how to attach the straps or simply tie at the neck.

Day 3

Didn't get far today, I need the muse to advise me. I added the felted flower and got stuck on the fine tuning and opted to sleep on it.

I did get started on another sweater, not from scratch, but improving one so I'd like it better.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Absolutely wonderful evening with several girlfriends last night...we started with an arts & crafts lesson from Michelle on how to build this beautiful star that I spray painted deep teal. We enjoyed an amazing potluck meal and watched several episodes of GLEE.